Comments on: ARE LAPTOP MANUFACTURERS ENTITLED TO SELL HARDDRIVES WITH OEM OS ON IT?

By: secretagentbill

secretagentbill — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:04:38 +0000

A few years ago, some retailers liked to interpret the OEM license rules to mean that it had to be sold with new hardware. They took that literally and would sell OEM copies of Windows as long as your purchased any hardware, even a $1 cable. Microsoft viewed the agreement quite differently. They believe that only system builders can install OEM copies of Windows and that it must be on a new computer (not just parts), and that the license must stay with that computer and only that computer. So, your idea falls in a gray area somewhere in-between, so you’d really have to read the license agreements, etc.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:50:52 +0000

yes they can, my computer had a hard drive fail while still under warrantie and the tech that repaired it told me it was not the same drive
and it was from a different mfg

By: Capn

Capn — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:45:47 +0000

The hard drive would probably have prep version of the OS on it. There’s nothing wrong with doing that as long as you agree to the EULA on first boot.

The drive would most likely make a hardware driver profile for your computer when plugging it in.

But on the other hand why would you want that? Buy a blank HDD and format/partition it yourself and install the OS. If it came pre-loaded then it came pre-loaded with bloatware too.

By: Michael M

Michael M — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:04:15 +0000

An OEM OS can be purchased with any hardware, not just a new system.

By: Jerry J

Jerry J — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:03:08 +0000

They can sell the HDDs with the OS on it